Iran has recalled its ambassador to France several days after French President Nicolas Sarkozy refused to shake hands with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Safari said the action was taken because of recent "interventionist comments" by Sarkozy. He referred to a remark at a human rights conference that "I know perfectly well the Iranian president does not represent all the power in Iran, and even less ... the Iranian population."
Earlier in the week, President Sarkozy told former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "It is impossible for me to shake hands with someone who dared to say that Israel should be wiped off the map."